1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system, an apparatus, and a method for remotely operating a desired electronic device by means of a graphical user interface.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years there have been developed high-speed and advanced digital interfaces for transmitting data expected to have real time properties such as a dynamic image (moving image) or a sound or voice and data on which it is expected that a user can rely, for communications such as a static image and a control command. A digital interface conforming to the IEEE1394-1995 standards is one of these digital interfaces.
Furthermore, there recently has been suggested that electronic devices in a house having this type of digital interfaces (for example, AV (audio-visual) equipment, household electric appliances, and a personal computer, etc.) might be connected with each other so as to construct a home network.
In such a home network, a device functioning as a center of the home network may, for example, be a television set. If so, the television set provides a user with graphical user interfaces for remotely operating other devices, and the user operates a graphical user interfaces displayed on the television set to operate a device corresponding to the graphical user interface.
There are, however, a plurality of types of devices connectable to the home network, and they have operating environments different from each other. Furthermore, even if the devices have the same function, their operating environments depend upon their manufacturers or model types.
Therefore, there is a problem in that the television set is required to cope with graphical user interfaces depending upon manufacturers or model types flexibly.
In addition, there is also a problem in that the different operation methods for each graphical user interface will cause operation to be complicated. To solve this problem, there can be a method of operating each graphical user interface by using direction keys and selection keys.
This method, however, has the problem of requiring the direction keys to be operated by a user a plurality of number of times until a desired function is selected, as a result of which it takes much time to execute the desired function. Particularly if a plurality of operations are required to be executed continuously, the operations are complicated, and so quick operations cannot be performed, which is disadvantageous.